Managed by the National Academies, PEER began in 2011 as a partnership between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) designed to address development challenges through international research collaboration. Under its PEER Science component, the program has provided 137 grants to support developing country researchers in their collaborations with U.S. counterparts in a wide range of fields with near-term development impacts, and the PEER Health component (in partnership with the National Institutes of Health) has awarded 23 grants focused on maternal and child health, tuberculosis, and infectious diseases. The total amount of grants exceeds $28 million as of late 2014, with funded project participants in 46 countries. In October 2014, the two programs are consolidating into one PEER program and adding several new U.S. Government agency partners, including NASA, the Smithsonian Institution, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The program has recently announced its latest call for applications, featuring several new special focus areas such as transboundary water research in Central and South Central Asia, wildlife conservation and anti-trafficking in Kenya, biodiversity in the Brazilian Amazon, environmental management and climate change resilience, urban sanitation, and water resource management. The new program review process now requires submission of a brief pre-proposal, with the deadline being January 9, 2015. Please visit the PEER Web site for additional information about the program's goals, application instructions, and a link to the online application site. Learn more...U.S. and international perspectives on Global science policy and science diplomacy

The United States and other countries around the world face problems of an increasingly global nature that often require major contributions from science and engineering that one nation alone cannot provide. The advance of science and engineering is an increasingly global enterprise, and in many areas there is a natural commonality of interest among practitioners from diverse cultures. In response to challenges, the National Academies held a workshop in Washington, DC, in February 2011, to assess effective ways to meet international challenges through sound science policy and science diplomacy. Read Report

COMMITTEE ON reducing maternal and child mortality in indonesia

The U.S. National Research Council and the Indonesian Academy of Sciences are working collaboratively to write a report addressing the issue of reducing maternal and child mortality in Indonesia, a Millennium Development Goal. The study process will be used to train staff of the Indonesian Academy of Sciences to enable the organization to independently carryout similar science policy studies in the future. Learn more...

IANAS Fellowship seed grants for scientists and engineers from Latin America and the Caribbean are supported by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. National Academies, and the InterAmerican Network of Academies of Science (IANAS). The purpose of the IANAS seed grant program is to allow IANAS Fellows to enhance scientific collaboration with their U.S. counterparts, leverage research begun in the U.S., and strengthen research capacities at home. Eligible applicants received an IANAS Fellowship award during the 2011-2012 program year, completed their short-term research in the United States according to the terms of that award, and submitted a final report to the NRC. The application deadline was January 31, 2013. Learn more...

Pakistan-US Science and Technology Cooperation Program

In 2003, the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Government of Pakistan and the United States Department of State signed a comprehensive Science and Technology Cooperation Agreement that established a framework to increase cooperation in science, technology, engineering, and education for mutual benefit and peaceful purposes between the science and education communities in both countries. Each country has contributed funds to support Cooperation Program projects under this Agreement that would enhance the ability of the science and technology community to positively contribute to human and economic development in Pakistan. This program, which is being implemented by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences on the U.S. side, is intended to increase the strength and breadth of cooperation and linkages between Pakistani scientists and institutions with counterparts in the United States. Learn more...

Arab-American Frontiers Program

The National Academies has introduced an Arab-American Frontiers of Science, Engineering, and Medicine program that will bring together outstanding young scientists, engineers, and medical professionals from the United States and the 22 countries of the Arab League for a series of symposia to discuss exciting advances and opportunities in their fields. The first symposium was held from October 17-19, 2011 at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research. Learn more...

Cooperation with Iran

Since 1990, the National Academies has been engaged in a program of workshops, exchange visits, and scientific consultations with the Iranian Academy of Sciences, the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences, and other institutions in Iran. A report describing these activities was published in 2010.

Association of Middle East and U.S. National Academies of Sciences

In 1994, the Association of Middle East and U.S. National Academies of Sciences was founded in Washington, DC. Its members, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the Palestine Academy for Science and Technology, the Higher Council for Science and Technology of Jordan, and the U.S. National Academies, produce joint, balanced, unbiased, and high-quality reports that advise high-level policy makers and government officials on the application of the best science to solving problems.Learn more...

EAST EUROPEAN PROGRAM

The East European program of the National Academies dates back to 1967. Initially the program emphasized exchanges of individuals from U.S. institutions and institutions of seven countries of the region. During the 1980s and 1990s, the program expanded to include workshops. The program was terminated in the early 2000s. Currently, there are occasional bilateral and regional workshops organized on an ad hoc basis depending on the availability of funding. A report on the history of the program through early 2009 was published by the National Academies Press in the fall of 2009.

Scientific Cooperation with Israel and/or Palestine

The National Academies analyze the possible contributions to progress in achieving peace in the Middle East of significantly expanded scientific cooperation between the governments and institutions of the United States and of Israel and/or Palestine. The emphasis will be on cooperation in increasing access to water, expanding health services, strengthening linkages among universities, and providing new employment opportunities.

Cooperation with Russia

The institutions of the National Academies have carried out a program of scientific cooperation with the Russian Academy of Sciences for 50 years. Dozens of reports of cooperative activities during the past two decade are currently available from the National Academies Press. In June 2009, a Jubilee in Moscow celebrated the successes of the past and considered opportunities for future cooperation. A report of the Jubilee is scheduled for completion by the end of 2009. Current plans for the program included cooperation in biomedicine, disposal of radioactive waste, regional adaptations of climate change, agrobiotechnology, and counterterrorism.

In April 2013, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) renewed their mutual cooperation and signed a five-year, inter-academy agreement to utilize their expertise in science, engineering, and medicine to jointly address their countries' most pressing challenges on April 4,. Advances in biomedical research and the transforming energy sector are among the many issues that NAS and RAS hope to address through 2018. Other areas of cooperation include biological sciences, counter terrorism, nuclear safety and security, and issues addressing aspects of global climate change.

Expansion of the Biological Threat Reduction Program

In 2008 and in 2009, the National Academies Press published reports on the future of the Biological Threat Reduction Program of the Department of Defense that were called for by the U.S. Congress. Additional contributions by the National Academies to this program were being considered as of September 2009.

Science and Technology Capabilities at the Department of State

An ad hoc committee will assess the adequacy of the capabilities of the Department of State to use effectively the nation's science and technology (S&T) assets in achieving U.S. foreign policy objectives during the next decade. It will consider whether and how enhancements of the department's S&T capabilities during the past decade should be augmented in view of the changing international political, economic, and scientific landscapes. The NRC's 1999 report titled The Pervasive Role of Science, Technology, and Health in Foreign Policy: Imperatives for the Department of State will serve as a benchmark and possibly as a framework for development of future strategic directions. Learn more...

Board on Science and Technology in International Development (BOSTID): 1969-1996

The Board on Science and Technology in International Development (BOSTID) was created in recognition of the importance of science and technology in contributing to solutions of social and economic development problems. Funded by USAID, BOSTID put particular emphasis on collaboration and relationship-building, comprehensiveness, and continuity in its activities. Its activities focused on local priorities and perceptions of needs, complemented by relevant experience from the United States and elsewhere. Learn more...